Better Late than Never
by Lisa Telramor
Summary: Kaito, in need of money for his night job turns to work as an escort. One night he gets an unexpected customer. Kinkmeme prompt 8 months late. Warning for prostitution, sex, and a crappy resolution. Kaito/Aoko


_AN: Well, I don't think I'm writing porn again anytime in the near future. You'd think I could a) keep it from growing into a plot monstrosity, and b) write it without much trouble considering the amount I read, but no. -_- Well, here's a kinkmeme fill eight months late. Whoever prompted this, I am sorry for the huge delay._

Up on the roof of one of the many love hotels in the red light district, Kaito wondered over the ease at which events had fallen into place. When he first found out his father had been Kid, he had found both the room behind the portrait and Jii. The supplies from the former had lasted for over a year, and when he didn't have something, Jii had the connections to help out. Since Jii's heart attack in the last year, Kaito had felt guilty accepting aid from the man he saw as almost a grandfather. By day, he worked part time in his college's drama department helping with the set and lighting, but it was far from enough to fund his heists, and he couldn't ask his mother to fund them. So it had been no real stretch for him to get a night job—other than his role as Kid, naturally. Being an escort was simple. With his talents, he could be any kind of romancer his employer wanted. Taking the step from escort to bed-fellow had been less easy.

He sighed, leaning out into the rush of air that made him want to jump from the roof and glide off into the night, if only he was wearing his glider. Instead he had on a long blonde wig and a "lady in red" ensemble. His client had been informed that he was a man, but he had wanted a 'female' companion, if only just in appearance. He had also wanted a few other favors, but Kaito was far beyond the squick factor of giving a blow job, even if he was more interested in the fairer sex. Still, the man would wake up alone the next day, what Kaito was owed missing from his wallet.

A chime from the direction of his very convincing fake cleavage had him reaching down his dress front for his cell phone. "Moshi moshi?" he said, changing his voice to the androgynous voice he used for business. It was his business cell phone after all.

_"Hatoko-san, I trust the customer was satisfied?"_

His boss. Kaito stifled a sigh. No one else really used this number. "He's sleeping and content, and I kept the charade of being a lady for the evening."

_"Good. The agency appreciates your willingness to work…outside the norms."_

Kaito bet they did. He scowled. If he didn't know he got paid a damn lot more than most of the other escorts for his ability to be whatever the customer wanted, he wouldn't have taken the job at all. "I'm done for the night. What are you calling for?"

_"A young woman visited our website and requested you for tomorrow night. Are you available?"_

"I have an exam in two days," Kaito muttered, thinking it through. "Did she have unusual taste or something?" More often than not, that was why he was called on. He was the man with a thousand faces—not all of them male.

_"No. She wrote that your description was similar to a longtime crush, and she wanted to at least pretend that he was in her reach."_

"Ah, one of those." There were many possible reasons for a client to hire an escort. To make an old lover jealous, to lessen a sense of loneliness, to have a good time, to flaunt something or other in the face of the world…he hated clients that looked for their loves in another, as they were the hardest to please and the ones most likely to get hurt from the interaction. "I'll think about it."

_"Let me know within an hour. Keep in mind, no matter how important an employee you are, you can always be replaced."_ That was a very very thinly veiled threat if Kaito had ever heard one. He sighed, hanging up the phone. He hated this job as much as he loved the thrill of his other nighttime employment, but until he had his college degree and could begin working on his own—or if he got Pandora, whichever came sooner—he would have to earn money whatever ways he could. The plus side of this job was that it paid _very_ well, enough to keep him supplied. It made him feel dirty, though, no matter how much he distanced himself from it using various personas.

Fixing his windblown wig, he headed toward the stairs, swaying expertly in the thin strapped high heels. It only took a quick stop by the lobby restroom to retrieve the change of clothing he had taken to storing there, and he was back on the streets as a man again.

_'So,'_ he thought. '_Another job.'_ The thought of accepting to escort a girl who would likely end up crying on him at some point in the evening wasn't tempting. He hated seeing a girl cry and while he was good at cheering people up, he always felt depressed later for having witnessed their tears. '_Although, on the other hand it would mean I'd finally have enough money to get the ingredients to replenish my sleeping gas supply—and maybe even replace my cape.'_ The gas had to be mixed by him specially since his officers gained an immunity if he didn't switch things up, and his original cape from his father had been sewn so many times it was a miracle it still kept him airborne. It was time to retire it.

Feet moving on their own down swarming city streets full of the night crowd, Kaito weighed his options and sighed at the outcome. Test or no test, he needed the money. After that he could take a break and focus on heists for a bit. Pandora couldn't wait for him to steal it forever. He pulled out his cell phone as he waited for a light to change and permit him to cross the street.

"I'll do it," Kaito said in his Hatoko voice the moment someone on the other end picked up.

_"Good, good,"_ the oily voice of his employer said, never once doubting he would get his way. _"Come tomorrow at six. She requested an evening out."_

"Not a whole day?" It didn't fit her type. Women who hired an escort to live a fantasy usually tried to spend as much time as possible in their denial and fantasyland.

_"She can't afford more, she claims. Come dressed nice and as yourself."_

"Yes, boss." Kaito hung up feeling cold. Hopefully all she would want was a night on the town—nothing more, nothing less. The light changed and he moved with the mass of people toward some unseen goal. He promised himself this would be the last client for a while. It was a bleak comfort.  
***

"Kuroba, I believe you're going to miss your next class if you don't wake up in the next thirty seconds."

"Mm?" Kaito wrenched his eyelids open. It felt like trying to juggle bowling balls over his head while smiling. "Hakuba?"

"You passed out ten minutes and thirteen seconds into your meal," the familiar face of his friend-rival was saying. "You have been asleep for approximately twenty-three minutes and forty seconds. As I said, you need to leave if you are to attend your next class."

Groaning and stretching, Kaito looked at the remains of his lunch. He had only managed to get through part of it. Thankfully his professor in his next class didn't mind food or drink being brought in so long as no one made a mess. "I s'pose I should thank you for waking me up."

"That would be the proper thing to do," Hakuba agreed drily. "Somehow I can't imagine you ever thanking me sincerely."

"Yeah, yeah." It felt weird to be going to the same college as Hakuba—who wasn't _that_ bad once you realized his sense of humor was different than the vast majority of the world's—when Aoko went to one half an hour away. Come to think of it, he never really saw Aoko much recently. He kind of missed their old routines and being chased with a mop. It had been so innocent, in a way.

"Please try not to fall asleep with your eyes open so soon after I woke you up," Hakuba said, tapping him on the head with a notebook. Kaito's notebook, actually.

Kaito grabbed it and stuffed it in his bag. So much for studying. "How much time left?"

"You have five minutes to get there on time." Hakuba said, not bothering to glance at his pocket watch for once.

"Five minutes? That's easy enough."

"That's if you're running at your fastest."

Rolling his eyes, Kaito tucked his lunch under his arm. "See ya, Hakuba."

"Get some sleep at night for once, nocturnal moron!" Hakuba called after him. Oddly, that was almost affectionate as partings went. He still brought up the theory of Kaito being Kid at every available moment.

"I must have worried him," Kaito muttered. There was something wrong with the world when his two best friends either hated or wanted to imprison his alter ego. He managed not to fall asleep during his remaining classes, but the day felt too long. It didn't help that Hakuba kept shooting him looks when they 'happened' to run into each other. _With anyone else it could almost be honest concern_, Kaito thought uncharitably. It looked more like the detective was debating talking to him about something, but he wasn't too worried. It was probably about Koizumi or something. She had decided to follow him to the same college like Hakuba had. Unlike Hakuba, she was still more of a stalker than a friend.

Time came to return to his apartment too quickly. His last class ended at four in the afternoon, giving him enough time to work on a bit of homework before changing into his work clothes. As he changed into the suit, Kaito wished he was putting on his Kid costume. The white suit was freedom and mischief. The dove gray one he was putting on now was not near as comfortable and was the tie of reality to his alter identity. It wasn't blood money he was earning, but body money wasn't much better if he were to stop and think about it. He'd been on the edge of morality long enough to know how to push back the niggling doubts of conscience though.

He tied his tie, blue—because it matched his eyes and because it reminded him of Aoko. Aoko. He hadn't seen her since he went to college two years ago. He wondered what she was doing and if she ever visited home. Kaito stayed well away from home. Better not to make a target of his loved ones by inadvertently leading someone back. She was likely angry at him. She was still in contact with Hakuba, but Kaito hadn't called her once in the two years.

"She'd hate to see me doing this kind of work," he muttered. Suit jacket one, hair brushed into as much order as it ever was, he locked his door behind him and made for the red light district. His employer was not a patient man, and he had a reputation to keep to his customer.

Kaito walked into the reception room at five forty five exactly. Hakuba would be proud of his timing. One of the other escorts grinned from where he was waiting for his client to arrive across the room.

"Hatoko-chan. You're a man tonight."

"Shut up, Akito." Kaito let the familiar easygoing mask slide onto his face. "I'm always a man."

"You know what I mean. So you're with a lady?" He smiled suggestively.

"Just for the evening." Kaito let his eyes roam the rest of the room. There were a few other escorts loitering around and the receptionist at the desk, but no clients at the moment. "And I'm Haruka tonight. She chose me because I resemble her childhood crush."

"Right, right, _Haruka_. You should use the same name for all your faces. And you're lucky. They tend to be more willing to get in bed with you." Akito was eighteen, barely legal for this kind of work, and eager to please. He had been steadily rising in popularity since he got the job and even had a few regulars.

"They're clingy." Kaito could get along well enough with most of his coworkers, but he didn't share some of their enjoyment of the job. It was work, and he was there for the money, not to sleep around. "I think your client's here," he added, seeing a middle aged woman in a pink dress rush into the room.

"Akito!" she said in a girlish voice, marching right to the man to give him an enthusiastic hug.

Across the room, in a not so hushed voice, one of the other escorts grumbled about "boy toys".

Kaito tuned them out. Instead he wandered over to the receptionist. "Are there any messages for me?" Usually his boss called him, but when he was in a rush he occasionally left messages at the reception.

"Not tonight, Haruka-san," the woman replied. Her name tag proclaimed her as Midori. "Your client should be here momentarily however. She has requested time with you from six tonight until midnight."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "That's short." Some clients kept him until morning. One had requested him for a week once.

"It's not our business to question," she said with a shrug. "Wait in room thirteen?"

"Of course."

The last few minutes felt like years and there wasn't even the adrenaline rush that counting down the seconds at a heist had. He sighed. If he wasn't so adamant about being an honest, honorable thief, he'd steal money. But he was a Phantom thief, so he had to earn it like everyone else in the world. The door opened while Kaito's back was turned and he heard the voice of the receptionist.

"Haruka-san, your client has arrived."

"Thank you Midori-san," he said turning around. His professional mask slipped slightly when he turned around. Only years of keeping his poker face kept him from hissing out a name.

"Enjoy, Aoko-san," the receptionist said politely, exiting as Aoko stared at Kaito wide eyed.

"Kaito?"

Kaito flinched. What was she doing here? She was the last person he had ever wanted to know about his night job. Well, either night job. "Aoko," he said without inflection.

"You haven't called, haven't written, haven't even tried to contact me in two years, and that's all you have to say?" Her hands fisted, and he was reminded of the past. He almost expected a mop to materialize. Instead he noticed the differences. She had finally gained a few inches—in height and chest. She looked older, her face thinner, and her hair carefully styled rather than the wild mass it used to be. It was funny how she was a foot away from him looking like she was going to punch him and all he could notice was how wrong her hair looked.

"Aoko," he tried again, voice sticking in his throat. Where were his honeyed words now? "Can we have this discussion somewhere else?"

"You've been keeping secrets for the last two years and you want to put them off even longer?"

Kaito was tempted to say that if she had waited two years a few minutes wouldn't hurt, but he bit his tongue. "They have cameras in the rooms here for the safety of employees," he said instead. It wasn't entirely true. It was for safety in part. It also was to keep track that the rooms weren't being used inappropriately. It was an escort service, not an all out brothel. If clients wanted to pay for sex they could do it off company premises.

Aoko scowled, then nodded stiffly. "Fine. Let's go talk."

"Thank you."

"Move. I'm still pissed, Kaito."

He held the door for her in a gentlemanly manner that he never used to for her. It seemed a good idea to get on her good side even if just a little. It was counterproductive and earned him a suspicious look instead.

As they walked across the entranceway, he heard a laugh. It was Koro—or whatever his name really was—an old client at the desk waiting for service. "Hatoko-chan's with a girl tonight. Have fun!" He leered at Kaito. Kaito steered Aoko as far from the man as he could without looking like he was directly avoiding him.

"Hatoko?" Aoko hissed.

"I'll explain later," he muttered. Along with everything else. Aoko was stiff on his arm as they stepped out on the streets. "Do you have something planned or…?"

"I had dinner reservations. To hell with that though."

Kaito winced. "I guess I can take you to the hotel to talk in private then…"

"Hotel?" she asked sharply.

"Aoko, I work for an _escort_ service. Part of what you pay goes to a room rented in a love hotel so that if the patron wants, he or she can go there and have the escort do whatever they require."

Aoko's face turned pink. She hadn't thought much beyond hiring someone for a date for the evening. "Is that legal?"

"Just barely." When it looked like she was going to stop walking, he tightened his grip slightly. "Please. We can talk at the hotel."

No one gave them a glance as they came to the love hotel. They were one more couple out of many. Kaito supposed it wasn't a good sign when the desk clerk at the hotel gives you a personal welcome though. He hadn't realized how often he actually came to the room they provided for him. It was a depressing thought. Aoko gave him an odd look as they climbed stairs. Kaito avoided it.

When he finally reached the room, he wasn't sure what to do. He waved vaguely at the bed, taking her coat to hang up. "Do you want refreshments, or…"

"I'm fine."

Kaito sat on the other end of the bed. He glanced at her and found her glaring. "I've… been an escort for about a year now," he said in sharp, halting fragments. "For a price, I'm a date for the night… For more money I come here." He couldn't bring himself to say the truth in front of her. Aoko, didn't seem to have the same reluctance.

"So you've become a whore."

He flinched. "Escort," he repeated stubbornly.

"And Hatoko?"

"It's my other work name. I become whatever the customer wants. Man or woman."

Silence descended between them and Kaito fidgeted, wishing he could pull out a deck of cards and shuffle through them if only just to have something to do with his hands. They clenched and unclenched on the bedspread instead. Aoko looked him over. Her mouth was pulled into a disapproving frown.

"Your father wouldn't have wanted his skills used like that."

Kaito shrugged. Honestly, considering his father was a thief he wasn't sure what he would or wouldn't have approved of.

"Why are you doing it?" she demanded. "For fun? For a bit of spending money? Because your mother would help you if you asked."

"I don't want to depend on her," he snapped. He wiped his hands on his pants, losing his control for a second. Aoko was one of the few people who could strip off his poker face. "And I need the money."

"Why?"

"I can't tell you."

Her eyes narrowed and she leaned closer. "It's drugs isn't it. You didn't want to tell me because dad's a police officer and you thought you'd get in trouble."

"Whaa?" Kaito leaned away as she invaded his personal space. "It's not drugs!"

"Give me your arm!"

"Why?" He pulled his arms behind his back, but Aoko followed, half sitting on him as she dragged his arm free and shoved up the sleeve. Kaito held perfectly still as she inspected him feeling overly warm for the situation. He couldn't help it. Her dress was cut flatteringly, her chest was pressing against his shoulder, and she was so _warm_… Never mind that he came to rooms identical to this one many times before for sex. He swallowed uncomfortably as Aoko prodded his forearm.

"Show me the other one," she demanded. Kaito gave in, letting her roll up his sleeves. Her frown deepened. "So it's not drugs." She leaned back onto the bed, her warmth leaving him as her absence made the air feel chilly.

"I said it wasn't." He rubbed his arms. Her fingers had been cool and surprisingly smoother than he remembered, but then, she wouldn't have been swinging a mop around without him there to provoke her…

"Then _why_ Kaito? Hakuba is worried. He never told me the details, but he must know something." Her hands balled into fists in her lap as her blue eyes bored into his own. "What happened that you can't trust me anymore? You used to tell me everything."

No, Kaito thought, he hadn't. Maybe once, when he was a child, but he had begun hiding how he really felt when his father died, and even Aoko didn't know everything. He would never tell her everything either because he didn't think he could. He looked away, studying the wall. The wallpaper was stained, with what he could only imagine. It was like him, used and a thin veil between what it hid beneath. He sighed. "I just need the money Aoko. I can't ask Mom for everything. I can't rely on Dad's money for everything, and I certainly can't ask for Jii's help. It's something that I have to do on my own."

"You can't even ask for my help? Or Hakuba's?"

Kaito stifled a snort at the thought of Hakuba helping him. No matter how worried his sort of friend might be, he couldn't imagine him ever aiding Kaito if he knew that the money was going to fund Kid's crimes. "Look, it's not forever. It's just until I graduate and can find a better job." Or until he found Pandora.

Aoko's hand on his face startled him and he turned to find her close again, looking angry but with tears in her eyes. "You could have been a stage hand. You could have done something with magic; anyone would have taken you on with your skills. You're selling your body, don't you understand that?"

Kaito wanted to lean into the touch and recoil at the same time. He settled for putting his hand over hers, neither pressing it to his cheek nor pulling away. "Of course I do." It seemed…fitting. He was already on shaky moral ground as a thief. Why not fall further down the slope? So long as no one got hurt, it was fine…but looking at Aoko, it seemed his actions had hurt someone after all. How would Tantei-kun justify it, he wondered. He had lied and lied to his Ran-chan, and must be living with the guilt of it even now that he was Kudo again. How long would he be justifying hiding himself from Aoko, whom he still claimed to love? Could he ever form a relationship with her if he was hiding so much? Two years ago he had thought it impossible, and he had tried to let her go by not contacting her. Now seeing her again brought back all the conflicted emotions.

Aoko slapped him, and it hurt. Kaito felt he deserved it. "You're an idiot," she growled. Then, to his horror, she started crying. "I don't even know why I still care about you!"

Kaito put a hand on her shoulder but she shoved him away and scooted to the other end of the large bed. He followed, touching her again, and she didn't pull away, sobbing rigidly beneath his palm. "Aoko…" Words failed, and he settled on rubbing circles on her back. It was worse than seeing her angry to see her cry.

"I loved you," she said when her shoulders stopped shaking and her tears dried. She faced the wall, body curled in on itself as she hugged her knees to her chest."You left me behind."

Kaito opened his mouth to say "I'm sorry," but what came out was "I loved you too."

Aoko turned on him, face red and blotchy and still dripping. "You're lying." He sat frozen. She searched his eyes looking like she would cry all over again. "You can't have or you'd have done something." He didn't answer. "Kaito!"

One minute she was glaring, the next Kaito felt wet, warm lips pressing against his own desperately. "If…you loved…me…you'd have….at least kissed me!" Aoko gasped against his lips in between hungry kisses that bordered on painful.

Something in him broke. Kaito curled his arms around her and kissed back. She bit his lip and he tasted blood, but the pain made it that much more real and precious. He should stop and explain. He should push her away and make sure she didn't get any closer for her sake, but he'd wanted this for too long.

Kaito didn't protest as Aoko pushed him backwards, still kissing him. He fell onto the bedspread willingly and let her hands roam where she pleased. "Ah!" he pulled back as her hand roamed lower. "Aoko…"

"Don't." She put her hand over his mouth. "Let me. Please." She was shaking slightly, but her eyes were intense and determined. "Please."

He had never been able to refuse her anything she truly wanted, Kaito reflected, and he doubted he could start now. He twisted and kissed the inside of her wrist. "I can't make any promises," he said.

Aoko looked unhappy, but not surprised. "I already know I can't tie you down. I gave up trying in high school."

Another shred of guilt was added to the pile of regrets he kept pushed to the side of his mind until he found Pandora. Kaito kissed her again quickly. His arms pulled her close as if it were the only chance he would ever get to hold her. If Aoko was finally able to move on after this, it would be. She was warm, and unexpectedly firm from muscles he hadn't known she had. Her mouth was slick and demanding as she reasserted control over the encounter. Kaito gave in willingly. For her, it was the one time she would be able to have control over him.

Aoko ran her hands down his chest, pushing up the fabric to touch skin. Her other hand remained firmly tangled in Kaito's hair, controlling the pressure of her lips on his. Kaito let go and _felt_ like he didn't when he was with a customer. Each callous on her fingers, still rough like when she used to wield her mop, made him shiver when it tickled his flesh. Each kiss made him lightheaded and hungry for more contact. More Aoko. It was _Aoko_, how could he have given her up?

A part of Kaito knew that after this, he still couldn't be close. He was still the Phantom Thief. Aoko was still the inspector's daughter. He groaned into her mouth as Aoko moved her hand lower. Her fingers splayed across his abdomen, circling lightly as they teased lower. Kaito couldn't breathe, but that was fine. At that moment breathing wasn't all that important.

Aoko pulled back. Her lips were bruised and moist. Her hair fell onto Kaito's face and chest as she leaned over him. "Touch me too," she ordered. "Please." Long past thinking, Kaito reached without hesitation to run his hands along her sides. They followed the contours of her hips to her thighs, then up, over the swell of her buttocks to her back and shoulders. She shuddered above him. "More." His touch slipped between her legs and she moaned.

It was only when, breath ragged, bodies shaking, Aoko's hand pressed against his suddenly bare erection that Kaito's brain caught up with him. "Wait!" he gasped. "Condom." It was hard to think outside of one word responses, hard to think at all, but it was important. Aoko made a noise of irritation and Kaito pushed her hand away. "If I have anything, I don't want to give it to you." It was a reminder, another reminder of dozens, how things had changed. He slept with many people. Last time he tested fine, but next time? It had been a while. Plus Kaito didn't want to get her pregnant. It would be stupid when neither of them were ready for a child.

Aoko watched him move to get it with an unreadable expression. "Kaito?"

"Yes?" He paused at the change in her voice.

"Do you regret it?"

Kaito wasn't sure what she was asking. Did he regret leaving? Did he regret essentially becoming a prostitute? Did he regret long searches for gems and justice in the night that caused him to take this path? Maybe she meant all of them. "Sometimes," he said. He wasn't sure which question he was answering either.

She got off the bed and kissed him gently, as far from the aggressive person of a second ago as she was from the mop wielding girl he grew up with. She led him back until he was lying beneath her and took the condom from his hands. "If you regret it, change," she whispered. Her fingers ran through the hair surrounding his erection in an oddly tender gesture. She opened the packet and rolled the condom on, meeting his gaze with serious eye. "And you had better not regret this."

He didn't have a chance to answer. All thought and intent fled as she lowered her body around him. "Oh, god," he gasped. She looked comfortable, incredibly turned on would be more accurate, but she did this before, she had to have. He wasn't sure if it bothered him or not, one more emotion to throw aside to examine at a later date. She felt so hot and tight around him, and her fingers tight around his biceps were the only thing grounding him. He didn't realize sex could feel this good. Apparently there was something for emotional involvement in the act after all.

Aoko stared down at him and _moved_, and Kaito felt his masks crumbling away. It was vulnerable. She held control, pushing his shoulders back into the mattress and tightening her knees about his hips. She set the pace. She stifled any sounds with her lips and pulled up emotion Kaito didn't know he had. Up, air, loss, need-want, reach; Down, warm-wet-tight, close, ache, strain. It was all sensation without calculation, feeling in its purest sense. He was flying. He was living. It felt like the first time he managed a magic trick and his dad held him close and promised to teach him more. It felt like the first rush of being Kid, jumping off buildings and knowing he had the police in the palm of his hand. He never wanted it to end, but at the same time it was too much for one moment.

Above him, Aoko gasped, her movements jerky. Kaito shuddered with her, knowing he wouldn't be able to hold on to the pleasure and closeness much longer. All control broke and he gasped, bucking up to get as close as possible before shuddering in completion. He couldn't breathe as he shivered with aftershocks. His throat felt too tight and his mask kept slipping away from his attempts to regain control. Aoko murmured something in his ear, holding him close. Her fingers carded through his hair, slow and soothing. Air returned to his lungs in aching rasps. His face was wet with tears he couldn't remember crying.

"It's okay, Kaito," Aoko said, and she had been saying it for several minutes, he was sure. Kaito lay limp beneath her taking it in. "Breathe. It will be okay. Shh, shh."

Kaito's eyes focused on Aoko's hair tickling his jaw. It was a darker brown than it used to be, almost black where it used to be the color of milk chocolate. It showed signs of being cut only a few days ago, the edges still uniform in length. He wanted to touch it, but it was too much of an endeavor. Breathing came first.

Aoko smiled when she felt him relax and start breathing regularly. "Better?"

"Yes." With the return of breathing came the return of control. Kaito could feel his expression returning to neutral from its former vulnerability. The emotions of the last few minutes were shoved into a compartment in his mind for examination at a later date.

"Good." Aoko rolled off him, leaving him feeling cold and a bit less complete. She curled against his side instead. "…Thank you. I needed this."

"…I missed you," he mumbled. He didn't want to think about her _thanking_ him for sex. It didn't sit right with how much he just felt. It hadn't been _just_ sex. It terrified him, but it was another emotion to smother even as it came into existence.

"Will you let me into your life again?"

Kaito rolled so they were no longer touching. If he let her return, it would invalidate all the pain in giving her up in the first place. Pandora, he reminded himself. The organization. Kid. There were very valid reasons to keep her away.

"I thought as much," she sighed. "You deserve better than this, though, Kaito. With your skills you could do so much… Hakuba says you're involved in theatre."

"It's not a job. I don't want to act for a living."

"You're good at magic—"

"I can't." His voice broke for a second, even though he didn't feel his mask shift. Aoko always knew how to make him lose his control…

"Think about it. You're worth more than sleeping with whoever pays for it." She brushed her palm along his back. "You have Hakuba and me, if you'll turn to us."

For a moment he felt angry. She broke into the life he built up without her, broke down his shields, and made his feel so damn much, but she couldn't stay and he would have to go back to the cold of not feeling again. _She_ bought _him_ tonight, so where did she get off on preaching to him? But it was Aoko. She wouldn't hurt him on purpose. She wouldn't push unless she was truly worried. Why did she still care? But then, why did he?

"I'm still angry. But I care too." She curled against him again, arms firmly around him. "You have a lot of talking to do to get out of this."

"Can we just leave it at that it's something I have to do?"

"Being a prostitute?" she asked sharply.

"No! Shit, Aoko, I mean why I need the money. I need it because there's something I have to do and I have to do it myself." The room was too cold and Aoko too warm to pull away. The bed was soft and warm. Kaito fooled himself to thinking they were the only reasons he wasn't running.

Aoko sighed. Her nails pricked his chest as her fingers clenched tight for a moment. "I won't wait for you. Whatever it is that you're doing, I can't put my life on hold."

"I know. I never expected you to. It's why I gave you distance to start with." He took a breath, let it out slowly. "I still…care about you a lot. A lot a lot." It wasn't like he could ignore that after what just happened. Sex was completely different with her, and there was really only one factor different in there. "I care, but I can't be in your life, and if Hakuba knows what's best he really shouldn't get too close either." He could see it all fall apart. Aoko would try to come closer and she would stumble upon Kid. Her anger and disgust would reveal him to the police and then the organization would know. Once they knew, no one was safe. His mom, Aoko, Nakamori, Koizumi, Hakuba…even the chibi-tantei would all be at risk, even more than they were for their involvement with Kid. Anonymity protected him, but everyone else too. If no one knew him, no one knew his plans or could be used against him.

"…I don't understand," Aoko said. "I'm not even surprised though. We don't have much left do we?"

"No." They had a shared past, but their lives were completely separate not. "It's for the better though."

"I'm going into law," she said finally. "I thought about police, but I've seen firsthand what it does after years of taking men down. It's why Dad prefers chasing Kid. He grumbles and swears, but it's usually safe. It's not a murder. No one gets hurt, and everything is returned. But I still can't ignore criminals, so I'll make sure they pay for what they did. Legally."

Kaito wanted to laugh. She was going into a field for justice, and he was a criminal looking for revenge. There was bitter irony there. It was partly why he fell in love with her years ago. She had such a strong sense of right and wrong, and he never got over the novelty of seeing someone with such strong convictions of the world's black and white. "It sill suit you. Somehow I always expected you to join the force and be tearing after Kid one day…but I can see you as a lawyer."

"…Maybe when Dad catches Kid I can give him a fair trial."

"What's your definition of fair?"

"One not run by his fans…and not run by his enemies either. Kid's…a pain. He flaunts rules and authority, and stealing is never right. But he gives things back, gives warnings, and he cares about people. No one is hurt by his traps, he will abandon targets to help someone, and after he leaves, security always gets better so the theft won't be repeated. He should have to pay for stealing, but he's not a murderer. No one's ever been hurt, so that should be taken into account too."

Kaito felt her breathe, each inhale brushing her skin against his back. It was nice. And she wasn't yelling at Kid or him, but actually reasoning things out. She really changed in two years. It felt a bit lonely.

"Kaito?"

"Mm?"

"When you do whatever it is you need to do, don't forget about us ok? I'm not going to sit around and wait, but I don't want you out of my life."

"Yeah." He reached for her hand and squeezed it once. "I don't want you out of mine forever either."

"Good…"

He waited for more, but nothing came. She was asleep. He touched her hair and leaned back into the mattress. Relaxing just enough to let the peace and comfort of having his oldest friend by his side seep into him, he let go.

Kaito returned to routine the next day. Aoko walked with him to the train station, early in the morning, and he was off to change for classes. Her words followed him throughout his day, but he didn't give them much conscious thought. He was Kaito Kid. It was time to focus on that again, and if he looked past the masks layered over his emotions, he might admit that he wanted to get closer to being safe enough to see Aoko again, and maybe not leave her side again.

Three months after seeing Nakamori Aoko for the first time in two years Kaito perched on top of his usual hotel building. Behind the safety railing, ten feet away, Hakuba Saguru stood watching.

"No accusations today, Tantei-san?" Kaito said. His shoes scraped cement, toes dipping over the edge of the building. The wind was mild today, not the best for gliding, but he was hopeful that this time he wouldn't need to run. It was Hakuba and him here, no task force, no billionaires yelling, no fans. It was calm.

"Anything more would be superfluous. By now you couldn't change my mind about your identity, Kuroba. I've seen your scars." Hakuba rattled the chain link safety railing as he took a step closer. "Is it your target?"

Kaito smiled wistfully. "I don't know." He didn't bother arguing about his identity. It wasn't worth pretending he wasn't anymore, at least not to Hakuba. "You probably shouldn't be here."

"I know." Hakuba pulled out his watch; it popped open with a click. "You had a reason not to send a note for this one."

"If it's the one…well."

"The gunmen."

"Yes."

"Aren't you tired of all this?"

"Very much." Kaito pulled the gem from his sleeve, rolling it in his palm, but not holding it up to the light. "What do you plan to do, if this is the one? Arrest me?"

"No." Hakuba looked out over the city with its ever-present glow of light pollution. "I got too emotionally involved a long time ago for that. If it's the one, I'll help you do what needs to be done."

Kaito laughed once, softly. "Thank you. You're not as bad as I used to think…" He held the transparent stone up to t he light, tilting it so it caught the moonlight. He didn't breathe as it sent first a skitter of rainbow reflections then caught the light at an angle that made it look red. It wasn't a huge difference in size, the red core was two inches in diameter to the gem's total two and a half, but it was enough. God, it was enough. Beneath him Hakuba gasped. Kaito laughed again, feeling giddy and exhausted. "This is it."

"…Now what?"

"I destroy it. Then I make a replica and lure in the crows." The stone vanished into a pocket only he knew how to find. Kaito looked at Hakuba and grinned. "Will you help me?"

"Yes." Hakuba smiled. "About time you asked."

"…the police…"

"I've been conducting back ground checks for years, ever since things didn't quite add up. The shootings during your heists were never investigated. I know who I can trust."

"Thank you."

Six months from destroying Pandora, three people retired in the span of a week. Two, some would say, were the same person, the faceless escorts—or escort depending on the person asked—sent a regretful letter, a bouquet of complimentary flowers, and never stepped foot in the building again. Two days later, Kaitou Kid performed his last heist, pulling off a slight of hand no one saw coming and demolishing a crime syndicate before declaring himself no longer a restless spirit and vanishing into thin air. Urban legends were popping up all across Japan with theories of who—or what—the Kaito Kid had been. If the correct people were asked, some even came startlingly close to the truth. With the police distracted with rooting out the remains of the crime syndicate, Kid's case was put on hold indefinitely.

One Kuroba Kaito finished his third year of university and visited home for the first time in almost three years. Of course his mom wasn't there. She was on a trip around America like she had been since things started getting dangerous and he hinted that it might be better to hit up old friends. Kaito thought she might be visiting the Kudos in Hawaii. Her absence was made up by Aoko returning from her college to visit a day after he returned.

"You're home," Aoko said, looking out her window and finding Kaito in the tree between their homes where he spent hours lazing about since grade school.

"Yes."

"For good?"

"I'm finishing college," Kaito said. "And I won't run off anymore."

She smiled. "Good."

"Are you seeing anyone?" He kept the question casual, mask ready to hide any reaction to her response.

"No." She smiled wider.

"Are you interested in a date next week? I have a few things to wrap up, but…"

"I'm interested." She leaned away from the window long enough to open it wider. "Come in?"

Kaito let his relief and happiness show on his face before putting his 'goofy friend' mask back. Only Aoko got to see his true feelings. He swung from the branches in a practiced leap from tree to window. She kissed him as he sat in the windowsill, one leg in the room. He let the last months' triumphs and uncertainties pour into it, and they parted, breathless.

"I'm not going to run off anymore," he murmured. "And sometime soon I will explain everything."

"How soon is soon?"

"This week. I just hope you won't hate me after."

"I could never. I don't hate you now and I had to spend three years wondering if you were ever going to be with me again." She hugged him. "Glad to have you back."

"Glad to be back."


End file.
